Rikkai Days
by pull harder
Summary: 030/100 / Entry: Ah. Niou-senpai. Should have known.
1. Not A Walk in the Park

_Standard Disclaimer applies._

RD: **Not A Walk in the Park**

* * *

Marui scratched his chin as he gazed at Niou's latest battle plan. The two were in the park near their school after being tasked by Yukimura to bring Akaya safely back to his house. Instead of going home themselves afterwards, they decided to head off to somewhere public and discuss… things. "Hey, Niou…"

"I know your secret," Niou said mysteriously.

"…I have a secret?" Marui blinked.

The Trickster stared. "Yes. Your deepest, darkest secret that you don't want anyone to know, especially a certain Regular in our tennis team who, out of courtesy, I will hide under the name… Kirihara Akaya."

Marui nodded unconsciously. "Oh, it's _that_ secret, is it?"

"Yes, _that_ secret." Niou smirked.

_Five…_ The two sat in the sandbox silently, as if waiting for something to happen.

_Four…_ Marui studied the paper in front of him closely, checking for defects.

_Three…_ He paused.

_Two…_ and turned to Niou.

_One…_ "_That_ secret! How the hell did you find out, eh?" Marui demanded, clutching the paper with a stunned expression.

Niou raised an eyebrow at the incivility directed towards his written plans. He pulled it out of the other's hands and smoothed it down, making sure that the handwriting was still readable. "Now, now, sugar-freak, there's no need for barbaric actions," he drawled mildly. "'Sides, if you were aiming at being subtle, I have to tell you it's not working."

Wait. That's it? No teasing, wheedling out of information, blackmailing; nothing? "So then," the tensai began, thinking carefully. "Do you think Akaya knows about it?"

"Fuck, no," answered Niou. "That brat is so dense, he'd be deadweight in water."

Marui didn't know if he should be offended in behalf of Akaya. He settled for rolling his eyes. "Well, moving that aside, why do you care, anyway?"

Niou let out a ridiculous gasp, hand on his heart. "But Marui, you're my bestest best friend!" he said unconvincingly. "And because of that, I want the bestest best for _you_."

"Cut the crap, Niou."

"That is to say," Niou continued, ignoring him completely, "I want you to get a life. God knows you have too much time on your hands."

Marui slapped himself in frustration. Why did he even bother with Niou, anyway?

"'Cos I'm your bestest best friend, too, duh." Then, Niou had the strangest look on his face. "…Maru-_chan_."

"ARGH!"

"Oho, is that name your weakness, Maru-_chan_?" asked the Trickster. "I didn't know you were so _sensitive_."

"I'm not, bastard! Shut up!" Marui yelled madly.

"M—"

"SHUT!"

Niou gave and amused smirk as he folded and pocketed the piece of paper. "I'm telling Akaya tomorrow, if you don't mind," he said.

"…You wouldn't."

"I'll tell the whole school," was the singsong reply.

"OMFG, YOU WOULDN'T!" Marui seethed. "I'll fucking kill you, bastard. I fucking _will_ before you can even breathe a syllable out to anyone."

Niou's smirk widened. "I'd like to see you try, sugar freak."

Aggravated, the tensai pulled out a stick of gum from his bag and promptly chewed on it. "Look," he said in between chews. "Who else knows?"

"Everyone."

"Everyone?" Marui repeated, aghast. "_Everyone_?"

"Everyone on the team," Niou couldn't help but clarify, no matter how amusing Marui's reaction was.

"Good. Then… Niou, I need you to NOT tell Akaya."

Niou smirked. "If I said no?"

"The only allowable answer here is yes," Marui said matter-of-factly. He'd expected that Niou would be tough to convince.

"Then you'll just have to tell him before I do, eh?"

"_Niou_."

Niou fished out his phone and dangled it in front of Marui. "Gonna try and stop me, sugar freak?" he asked mockingly. "I sure hope not 'cos I'm just _shivering_ with excitement. I wonder what the brat would say, hm."

Marui's eyes widened as the Trickster did as he said, pressing 6 on speed dial and holding the phone up to his ear. "Shit, gimme that!" He scrambled to get the phone and practically tore the battery off. "I can do it myself," he announced confidently, though he made sure to keep Niou's phone for the night. Just in case.


	2. Curse of the Golgi Apparatus

_Standard Disclaimer applies._

RD: **Curse of the Golgi Apparatus**

* * *

"So how are you feeling today, Akaya?"

"Like you need to mind your own business, senpai," huffed the Rikkai ace as he scribbled fiercely into his notebook. He still hadn't finished the Biology essay due later. In fact, he'd been postponing it 'cos, really, what did he care about the Golgi apparatus?

Marui puffed up his cheeks as he stared at Akaya. "Hey, what're you so busy about, huh? You haven't even eaten lunch yet." He ruffled the boy's hair as he looked closer at the notebook. "Golgi apparatus… not the most pleasant topic in the universe, is it?"

"More pleasant than Marui-senpai's open trap," Akaya said, waving his inactive hand flippantly until Marui decided that sitting on Akaya's assignment was a good idea. "Hey!"

"Respect," Marui scolded.

"Well, now," Yukimura interrupted the two as he entered the room. Following him were the rest of the Regulars, bearing plenty. "What's happening here?"

Akaya launched himself at the captain instantly. "Buchou, Marui-senpai's sitting on my homework! Can I kick him? Can I?" he asked eagerly.

Marui rolled his eyes at the boy's childishness. There was no way Yukimura would agree to such a—

"If you're good and behave well during practice."

Such a… Oh, he did _not_ just say that. "Yukimura, how could you?" demanded Marui incredulously.

"Very easily," Yukimura replied, patting Akaya on the head.

"Heh, Marui's gonna get kicked!" Niou taunted with a smirk.

"Gonna get kicked _your face_."

Snigger. "Touchy."

"Niou…"

Akaya tried to push the fuming redhead off his desk before he could damage anything important. "GET OFF, SENPAI!" he cried as he shoved, and very much failed at that. Bad news! He only had five minutes left to finish the essay and Marui-senpai didn't seem like he'd be standing up anytime soon. "SEN_PAI_!"

Marui paid him no more attention beyond a flinch, but that was probably because of the volume.

"… 'm not touching or talking to you for a week, let's see _you_ handle that…" Akaya muttered forebodingly, a dark expression on his face.

Marui didn't need to be persuaded (or threatened) more than that, as he hastened off the desk, laughing awkwardly, slapping Akaya on the back, and rejecting the younger boy's previous statement with a twitchy grin.


	3. Hypnosis

_Standard Disclaimer applies._

RD: **Hypnosis**

* * *

"U-uh…" Akaya backed away as slowly as he could, though his speed didn't really matter as Marui probably couldn't see him moving beyond the stars in his eyes. "Um… s-s-senpai, I… uhh… c-cu… could y-ye—you…"

Marui grinned up at him blissfully. "Yes, Aka-chan, my darling muffin?" he asked from his kneeling position.

"You… h-h-how do I put this…"

"My cupcake?" encouraged the redhead, though neither his words nor his expression provided any real encouragement. "If you have any problem at all, I will be your knight in shining armor! Your one and only hero, and the one you can depend on for the rest of you life!"

Akaya blinked at him. "Nuh-uh!" he said, vigorously shaking his head. "That's Seii-buchou, not you!"

"Nay! It will be I!"

"…_Will be_."

Marui nodded. "Yes. I may not be your hero now, but… someday." He struck a pose that warmed the hearts of his stalkers peeking at them from outside the classroom. "Someday, you will learn to accept that you can't rely on Yukimura Seiichi for every little thing… because… I am _here_—ah! My honey?" Marui paused when he realized that Akaya was no longer in front of him. "Where are you, my beloved sweetheart, Aka-chan?"

By this time, the Rikkai ace was halfway towards the door. He immediately froze and whirled back around when his senpai stopped his speech.

"Ah, there you are!" cried Marui upon seeing him. "What are you doing over there all of a sudden, my dear cherry pie? Has something disturbed you?"

_Yeah. Your face_, Akaya wanted to say so badly but couldn't. He had to figure out why Marui-senpai was suddenly acting like a Don Quixote who could spare no creativity for making nicknames. "Nothing… s-senpai," he answered haltingly. "But, ah…"

"You want butter?" Marui brightened up. "I knew I could be of service to you! I will go to the cafeteria straight away!"

Akaya didn't even have time to call the tensai's name before he'd disappeared. "… Wow, thanks."

* * *

"Akaya looks a bit disturbed," Jackal pointed out to his two companions. "Don't you think so?"

"…nfu…"

"Niou-kun."

"…mrmpf…"

Yagyuu held back a sigh. "Niou-kun, I suggest you stop your laughter before someone—meaning Kirihara-kun—discovers us."

"Aw, c'mon, Hiroshi! You _know_ hypnotizing Marui is the best idea ever!" Niou insisted, barely able to control his voice but managing.

Here, Jackal did absolutely nothing to hold back a sigh. "Hey, Niou, how do we dehypnotize Marui, anyway?"

"…pffrmp…"

"Eh, Yagyuu, do you know?"

Yagyuu's glasses glinted, though how it did that would remain a mystery, considering they were in the broom closet. He cleared his throat softly. "I believe the cue is to touch any dairy product, Jackal-kun."

"… oh, crap."

"…mpfeeenprmp!"

* * *

Marui stared at his butter-covered hand for a whole five minutes, bemused. "What… the… fuck?"


	4. On the Ceiling

_Standard Disclaimer applies._

RD: **On the Ceiling**

* * *

In one of the deep recesses of the Marui household, particularly through the front door, up the stairs, to the left then turn left again, there is a door. Going through that door, the first thing one sees is the bed littered with many silly things like schoolwork, dirty clothes and empty packets of gum. One would think that the person inhabiting that space never cleans up at all. He does occasionally, though.

"_Approximately ten times a year," Yanagi stated._

"_. . . Shut up, you."_

Astoundingly, after one stares at the chaos that is the bed a little too long, one would notice that the trash on top went like a trail. From the bed, pieces of paper and other stuff lead to the study table where books lay open and ink decorates table surface randomly. A colourful yet forgotten sock is dangling from the edge, and there, one would find numerous pencils and foil on the way to the closet.

Beside that door, a ladder is leaning against the wall conspicuously, and one wonders what it was—or is being—used for.

In this time, one would decide to examine the ceiling. Looking up, one would see various papers tacked onto the wood. The sheets are all filled with crayon drawings, exempting those with markers. All of them are from his boyfriend.

_Niou chose this time to butt in. "Why'd you put them on the ceiling? Darts practice?"_

"_WHO THE FUCK WOULD THROW DARTS AT THE CEILING?"_

"_Hell, I dunno. You?"_

_Sanada told the both of them to run laps._

"_But I'm not _done_ yet!" Marui cried. "At _least_ let me _finish_ first!"_

One would ask what those papers were doing on the ceiling. At least, one thinks, the drawings are not on the door of the refrigerator. In that case, not only would it be messier—'cos the amount of drawings exceeds the surface area—but, also, it would make the owner of the room feel more like his boyfriend's parent than his boyfriend's… well, boyfriend.

He already feels like a parent as it is, since, the moment he and his significant other got together, Jackal chose to abandon the babysitter position.

"_What?" Jackal asked defensively. "I don't exactly appreciate watching you two make out every few minutes."_

_Marui glared back just as defensively. "We don't make out every few minutes!"_

"_Right. You make out every few _seconds_, which is just as bad."_

_Yukimura chuckled. _

Again, one wonders what the drawings are doing on the ceiling, but stops upon an accidental glance at the bed. Then, one starts to look forth and back between the two, and the answer forms in one's mind. After a minute of organization, one realizes that. . .

"_You want to see them before going to sleep and when you wake up," Yukimura guessed with a smile._

_Marui looked down, blushing. ". . . Yeah."_

"_Are you done with your story?" Sanada asked._

"_. . . Yeah?"_

"_Then g__o run your laps."_

"_AW, C'MON!"_


	5. Just in Case

_Standard Disclaimer applies._

RD: **Just In Case**

* * *

Marui grinned as he entered the room. After steadfastly following Akaya around his house for no reason at all other than to annoy him, the self-proclaimed tensai felt that it was finally the right time to rest. "Man, I really love your room," he said, plopping down on the tidy bed and ignoring Akaya's complaints. His eyes roved around the room, checking for undiscovered things. There was always something different.

"Marui-senpai, I just fixed that bed this morning!" Akaya whined.

"And I'm lying on it now. What're you gonna do about it?" Marui challenged, though not stopping in his exploration. His eyes locked onto a spot on the wall a pen's width away from the door. "Akaya, what's with that humongous face of yours over there?"

Akaya turned to look and pouted. "You mean my picture, right?"

"Yeah, that."

"It's my Just-In-Case picture."

". . . Okay, so what's it doing there?" asked Marui, curious. "Why not on top of your desk or somewhere else?"

"'Cos it's easier to see if it's there . . .? I dunno. I don't really have reason," Akaya answered.

The redhead nodded and continued to stare at the picture. Akaya looked young in it, and he briefly wondered if it was a graduation photo or just some random thing his mom got him dressed up for in formal clothes. "So why do you call it your Just-In-Case picture?" he asked after a while.

"Just . . . in case," the other boy hesitantly replied. "Do I really have to tell you?"

"I'll bother you until you scream," Marui offered.

"NO."

"Then _yes_, you have to tell me."

Akaya ducked his head, cheeks slightly pink, and started grumbling about stupid threats. He raised his eyes to scowl at his senpai and, finally, heaved a resigned sigh. "Fine," he said. "I call it my Just-In-Case picture 'cos it's there _just in case_."

Marui waited for him to continue.

He didn't. In fact, his expression turned into that of smug silence.

"In case of _what_?" Marui then asked, exasperated and dying of curiosity. "I mean, c'mon! If you're gonna tell it, tell it whole!"

Akaya glared at him again. "In case I DIE, duh! That'll be the picture I want my family to use! You never know when you're gonna die, right? So I have it ready. JUST. IN. CASE."

". . ."

". . ."

". . . But . . . isn't it a bit too early to think about death?"

"No."

Marui fidgeted at the blunt answer. He didn't like grim topics and wished to avoid them at all costs. This one was a bit unexpected. "So . . ." he began uncertainly, ". . . um . . . never mind."

"_What_, Marui-senpai?" Akaya rolled his eyes.

"Well . . . I was gonna ask if I could have the photo, but you're kinda being scary today . . . so . . ."

The boy blinked. "You want to have the photo," he fished. (1)

"Yeah."

"But it's my Just-In-Case photo."

". . . I know."

"So you can't have it, 'cos I need it just in case."

"You won't need it."

"_What_? Why?"

"'Cos you're not gonna die anytime soon, idiot," Marui declared before going up to the framed photograph and snatching it from the wall.

* * *

**Sometime in the future . . .**

"But when I _do _die, you're gonna return it, right?" Akaya asked for the tenth time that day.

"LA-LA-LA-LA-MORBID-LA-LA-I-CAN'T-HEAR-MORBID-LA-LA-LA-LA!"

"_Marui-senpai!_"

* * *

(1) fish / fished / fishing - in this case, it's like a neutral statement that's meant to have an answer. Made up the meaning.


	6. I Wanted to Hug You

_Standard Disclaimer applies._

RD: The Elusive Fourth Chapter – aka **I Wanted to Hug You**

* * *

". . . but I couldn't 'cos your mom was watching and she's creepy!" Akaya complained with matching arm movements, resulting to a personal space of one-point-five meters radius. "I mean, I know I'm – " a shudder for special effects, " – _cute_ and all the words you use to describe me, but I didn't know your mom thought that way, too!"

Marui sighed. "Akaya . . ."

"Yeah?"

"My mom does _not_ want to pedo you. I guarantee that," he asserted mildly. "She just likes you."

"In what way?"

"In a very safe, motherly way."

Akaya paused. He played a bit with the contents of his bento, brows furrowed and eyes dazed. Finally, he looked up at his senpai who was, to his surprise, staring at him intently. "So is it safe for me to sleep over at your house without being molested by your mom?" he asked meekly.

The self-proclaimed tensai smirked. "My mom won't be the one doing the molesting, if that's what you're asking."

". . . Oh. But what if I don't want to be molested?"

"Then I might have to result to rape."

"That," Akaya began in a disturbed tone, "sounds like something Niou-senpai would say."

"It does, doesn't it?" responded Marui, thoughtfully chewing. "I must be spending more time with him than I thought."

"Yeah. Ew."

"You know what?"

"'Course not. Why do you even bother asking?"

Marui ignored him. "Whatever. I don't know how we even got to talking about Niou. Change topic?"

"Sure."

"'Kay, so what do you _not_ wanna talk about?" he asked, adding shortly afterwards, "So we can avoid topics like that. Let's start with gore."

"Your mom's pedophilic tendencies?" Akaya supplied. "Niou-senpai, anybody's love and-slash-or sex life, tennis and . . . homework."

"Great. So now that you've narrowed down our possible topics to nothing, what's next?"

The two fell into silence. The younger boy slowly packed up his lunch since there was less than ten minutes until the end of their break. Still, he wondered how Marui-senpai ate so fast. Didn't his stomach, like . . . burn from over-exertion?

"Akaya."

"Nn."

"Hey, _Akaya_."

"I already said _'Nn!'_ Are you deaf or something?"

Marui smacked his gum rather loudly. "No," he answered. "But my selective hearing permits me to filter through unacceptable Scrabble words."

Akaya muttered something that resembled, _'You're such a nerd_,' but might also have been, _'I saw a bird.'_ Either way, he was ignored once more. "Fine," he said in a louder voice. "What did you want to say to me, anyway?"

"Cool. Actually, it's what you were saying earlier. Something about wanting to hug me?"

"Oh, yeah. What about it?"

The redhead looked at him strangely. "Don't wanna do it anymore?"

"I do, I do! I just . . ." Akaya tapped his chin. ". . . How to say this . . . I was just . . . waiting for permission?"

". . ."

"What?"

"Dude, first of all, you didn't ask. Second, who the hell asks for _permission_ to give _hugs_?"

"Well, _I'm_ not the one preaching his boyfriend about respect here."

Marui rolled his eyes. "Oh, sure. Pile all the blame on me."

". . . so do you want me to hug you now?"

"Ugh. _Like I said_, don't go asking for permis – oof!"


	7. Great Great Grand

_Standard Disclaimer applies._

RD: **Great, Great Grand**

* * *

Jackal wondered about them. He really did. Sometimes, he thought of the two without him realizing it. In word associations, random thought-straying and the occasional full-blown attack on his already frayed nerves – fraying courtesy of Kirihara Akaya.

He watched them before and after tennis practice and when he accidentally happened into them on weekends. They're practically glued together when in public.

So Jackal kept wondering. And at the very end of his wits wherein he started to consider _going up_ to the two and _asking_ them, he slapped himself hard.

He did NOT want to know about their bedroom escapades.


	8. So He'd Said

_Standard Disclaimer applies._

RD: **So He'd Said**

* * *

"_C'mon, Akaya! We're gonna be late!"_

"'_M still slee . . . py . . ."_

"_. . . Akaya? Hey, Akaya! . . . Geez. Late again."_

Kirihara hated them; hated every memory they brought back.

"_Senpai, look at what I made during art class!"_

"_It's a sheep."_

"_It's a __**cow**__!"_

"_Looks like a sheep to me."_

"_STUPID SENPAI!"_

Still, he couldn't help it. He had to look. He had to remember all those moments because forgetting them hurts. A lot.

"_Oh, __**god**__, Akaya, what happened to you?"_

"_Fight. Beat 'em all up, too!"_

"_YOU IDIOT! WHAT IF YOU'D DIED?"_

"_. . . I didn't, though. Look, I even bruised my knuckles 'cos I punched this guy __**really**__ ha – senpai?"_

"_Next time it looks like you're gonna get into a fight, run away. Please."_

Why?

What can these things do to change his life, anyway?

"_Akaya . . ."_

It didn't make sense why he needed these. He could just . . .

"_Marui-senpai?"_

. . . throw them away. He could live.

"_Come here."_

Even without the memories.

"_What is it, senpai?"_

He could try.

"_Akaya."_

He could. If he really wanted to, and he _did_ want to. Really.

"_I love you."_

So he'd said.

But the pictures stayed.


	9. Attention, Please!

_Standard Disclaimer applies._

RD: **Attention, Please!**

* * *

"Marui-senpai," Akaya greeted as he sat down next to him. He was already halfway through opening his bento when he felt more than one pair of eyes boring into his head. He looked up.

The rest of the Regulars stared back.

". . . What did I do?"

Yukimura smiled disarmingly at him.

Unnerved, Akaya turned to his boyfriend. "What did I do?" he demanded, a teensy bit scared.

Marui averted his gaze. "Um . . . well . . ." It was a really tough job, but he decided that Akaya had to be more mature and figure it out for himself. _That_ and Yanagi was holding his cake hostage and would THROWITAWAY if he even so much as squeaked out some help to Akaya.

Who was now officially panicking. "OH MY GOD, WHAT DID I DO? IS IT THE SCIENCE TEACHER? DID SHE TELL YOU GUYS WHAT HAPPENED LAST WEEK? 'COS IF SHE DID, I SWEAR IT WAS AN ACCIDENT AND EVEN IF IT WAS, SHE TOTALLY DESERVED IT ANYWAY 'COS SHE'S STUPID AND MADE ME CLEAN UP THE WHOLE LAB AND I DIDN'T EVEN DO _ANYTHING_ WRONG!" Akaya paused for breath and maybe to think a little. "Well, okay, so maybe I _did_ spill all those chemicals on her coat, but I swear that was an accident, too!"

"Akaya, it's not about the science teacher," Yukimura assured him, patting his head. His other hand was pinching Sanada, who'd almost assigned the second year a lot of laps.

Akaya sighed in relief.

"Though we _will_ talk about that after practice."

"NO!"

"After practice, Akaya."

". . . fine." He started poking angrily at his lunch and was just about to take the first bite when he felt them staring again. Suddenly, his food didn't seem as appealing as it was five minutes ago. "Okay, seriously, what did I do?"

Marui bit his lower lip when Akaya put down his chopsticks and pushed his lunch away. He really wanted to help, but Yanagi was . . . handing his cake to Niou, who started to open it instantly. Yagyuu handed his partner a fork – seemingly from nowhere – that was stabbed into the cake with gusto. Marui twitched.

He was _so_ gonna help Akaya now, he thought and tapped the boy on the shoulder.

Akaya looked at him with confused eyes that screamed PLEASE-TELL-ME-'COS-I-CAN'T-TAKE-IT-ANYMORE. "Senpai, tell me?"

"Um," Marui cleared his throat. "Yeah, sure, Akaya. It's . . . actually a matter of what you _didn't_ do."

". . . Okay, so what _didn't_ I do?"

Yukimura reached for Akaya's hands from across the table, _accidentally_ slapping Marui in the process. His smile widened when he felt the younger boy try to get away from him. "There, now, Akaya. I don't bite," he tried, and successfully got Akaya to stay still. "Now, to talk."

Akaya gave his best pout, moving his wrist slightly to check for a loosening on the other's grip . . . No luck. Oh, well. "Talk about what, buchou?"

"Akaya, you see . . ." With a faintly upset glance at Marui, the captain continued, "We, that is to say the team, feel like you've been pouring most of your attention either on Bunta –"

Marui snorted.

"– or on tennis. Not to say that's bad but . . . the rest of us kind of miss you."

"So," Akaya began hesitantly. "You want me to spend less time with Marui-senpai?"

"Not at all," Yukimura denied easily. "Just that you should talk to the rest of the team a bit more."

"Oh."

The Regulars looked at their ace expectantly.

"Um . . . if you want, I guess I could . . .?"

Satisfied with the answer, they all went back to their respective lunches, except Akaya since he'd lost his appetite a while ago.

* * *

Marui sighed, his hand tightening around Akaya's as they exited the school. "And to think, all that was just 'cos you didn't say hi to them."

". . . _Seriously_?"


	10. You're Short

_Standard Disclaimer applies._

RD: **You're Short**

* * *

"You're short," said a young redhead, resting his chin on the makeshift table as he stared oddly at the only other kid in the playground. "What're you doing?"

A head full of black curls bobbed while thinking of his answer. Finally, he decided on snobbishly turning his head to the side. "My mom told me never to talk to strangers!"

"Well, _my_ mom told me to make new friends," the redhead argued.

"Even with strangers?"

"Yeah."

"But . . ." The smaller boy pouted. He really had nothing to say to that.

The redhead then found it his duty to start talking again. "I'm Marui Bunta and my mom calls me a genius. What's your name?"

"Kirihara Akaya. I'm . . ." He looked down at his fingers. "I'm five."

"Cool. So are we friends now?"

"I think so . . . How do we know if we're friends?" Akaya asked, curious.

"How . . .?" Marui frowned and bowed his head in thought.

". . ."

". . ."

Akaya looked doubtfully at the older boy.

A few seconds later, Marui's head shot up, face alight with a bright grin. "I know!" he announced to his companion. "My mom says that she and her best friend know _everything_ about each other!"

"Oh."

"Yup!"

". . . what's the difference between a friend and a best friend?"

"Uh . . . best? Maybe best friends are, um . . . the _greatest_ kinds of friends! That's why they're called best." Marui nodded proudly.

Akaya blinked, but accepted the answer readily. "So are we friends or best friends?"

The redhead paused. His violet eyes gleamed as he watched the younger boy closely, and his grin widened. "If you want, we can be best friends," he suggested. "I only know this other kid who wouldn't let me touch his cap and I don't like him very much."

Akaya tilted his head. "We could be . . ." he said. "And I don't think you're a stranger anymore, anyway." He glanced at his crayons which were scattered all over the table and the pieces of paper his mom left for him and pushed some of them to the redhead. "You want to colour, too?"

"May I?" Marui's mom told him to always be polite and ask for permission – not that he still needed to since Akaya had already offered.

"Sure."

"Thanks!"

The two of them happily and quietly set about drawing each other and the playground and everything that they felt was good in the universe.

Until Akaya suddenly remembered something and decided to ask, "Is the kid with the cap really nice?"

Marui's lips twisted into a half-smile and he reached over to pat Akaya on the head. "Trust me on this one. You don't wanna know."


	11. The Silent Treatment

_Standard Disclaimer applies._

RD: **The Silent Treatment**

* * *

"Heh, so . . ."

". . ."

". . . I suppose you don't plan on talking to me anytime soon."

". . ."

"Eh . . ."

". . ."

"Sorry?"

The redhead rolled his eyes.

"Hey, what was _that_ for?"

". . ."

"I'm being perfectly sincere here! I mean, _you're_ the one acting irrationally what with the silence and the non-talkie-talkie."

". . ."

"Right, yeah. Silence and non-talkie-talkie are pretty much the same. Whatever. No one's listening."

A punctuating snort coupled with a glare.

"Well, _you_ are, obviously." Akaya pouted. "When are you gonna start talking to me again?"

". . ."

"As soon as I learn my lesson, yeah. Thanks for reminding me."

". . ."

". . . This is a stupid punishment. I'll just go – ow!"

Marui pulled him back down brusquely and wrapped possessive arms around him.

"Does this mean I'm spending the night?" the younger boy asked and felt the other nod. He wondered how he was supposed to reach his phone which, quite inconveniently, was located on the other side of the room.

Meh. Screw telling his mom for now. Marui would let go of him eventually.

"So am I forgiven?"

An ill-humoured growl.

Akaya sighed. "Thought so. You know, senpai, I never really thought of you as the growling type. You look more like a whiny –"

Marui's arms constricted almost painfully.

"– charming and forgiving person. Very manly, too. In fact, I'm not exactly sure why you're so insecure whenever I _unintentionally_ fall asleep on the bus and end up in Seigaku." Akaya's lips twitched. "Well, sure, Fuji Syuusuke's always the one who volunteers to bring me back to school, but can you blame him if I'm so damn irresistible? I can't."

"_Akaya_ . . ." Marui's breath tickled the boy's neck.

Akaya shivered. "What? Oh, wait, did you just say my name . . . ? So it _is_ about Fuji-san? Are you . . . _jealous_?"

". . ."

"Back to non-talkie-talkie again, are we?"

". . ."

"_Senpai_, he's got nothing on you! You're, uh . . ." He coughed self-consciously, trying to buy himself some time for thought. "Um . . . well, you're a self-proclaimed tensai . . . and he's not . . . Okay, so maybe that wasn't the best example."

Marui snorted.

"You're hot?" Akaya offered and was shot an incredulous look. "Well, you are! And he kinda is too, but he's not my type so I don't really care about him. He's nice some of the time, though."

"Akaya, Fuji's _never_ nice."

"You talked!" The Rikkai ace grinned at his partial success. Maybe if he kept talking, his boyfriend will finally stop with the silence! ". . . And what do you _mean_ he's never nice? He is when he wants to be."

"You're _so_ not going to Seigaku ever again. EVER."

"Tsk. Definitely jealous."

"Oh, shut up."

". . . Is that a roundabout way of telling me to give _you_ the silent treatment?"

"No, it was a very direct way of telling you to shut up."

Akaya smirked as the older boy led him to the bed. Shutting up might just be a wise plan. At least for tonight.


	12. Irritable

_Standard Disclaimer applies._

RD: **Irritable**

* * *

"Hurry _up_," Akaya snapped at the redhead who was lagging behind, face stuck to the candy shop window.

"No, _you_ hurry up."

Akaya rolled his eyes, paused, and then rolled his eyes again. "I don't even wanna figure out how that's supposed to work. See you," he said and wandered towards the direction of what he hoped was the exit. He'd never been to that mall before and had no idea how he was supposed to go home, but Marui-senpai had blabbed on about the bus passing by his house.

Or something.

Akaya sensed imminent doom and promptly dismissed it with a shrug. He didn't need imminent doom; he needed to get home. Damn Marui-senpai for having no compassion for his kouhai who he was supposed to be taking care of.

Hey . . . Where did the bus stop go?

He glanced around in confusion. After standing there for a few more seconds, he decided to try his luck down some other street. Maybe he'd missed it on the way over.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, _this_ boy wonder was sitting on the sidewalk, rained on and not amused. Naturally, he hadn't expected the sky to suddenly find him interesting enough to sprinkle on. Certainly not on the very day he determined to forego his ritualistic bag check – which led to the missing umbrella, _which_ led to a completely wet Akaya – before leaving the house.

Akaya blamed Marui-senpai.

The Abandoner of Innocent and Easily-Lost Young Men.

Oh, yes. Marui-senpai would pay dearly . . .

"Need help, little man?"

Akaya blinked when the rain stopped hitting him and looked up at the brightest green umbrella he'd ever seen. He frowned at the owner. "You've _got_ to be kidding me."

Marui felt the need to look affronted. "Such gratitude," he sniffed. "After I went to your house and suffered your mother, too."

". . . Sure."

"I'm sorry for ignoring you."

"I bet you are."

"I'm serious!" the redhead insisted.

"That's what I said."

"You're mad."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious. I didn't notice that myself. Will you bring me home now?"

Marui pouted but let it slide. There was no arguing with an irritable Akaya.


	13. Forgive Them

_Standard Disclaimer applies._

RD: **Forgive Them**

* * *

'_Hey, babe. __If you have nothing to do tonight, wanna come to my place? Satisfaction guaranteed.'_

"_My_ satisfaction with what I'll do to _your face_ is what _I_ guarantee, bastard."

'_My ice cream dripped all over me! . . . Won't you lick it off?'_

"That won't be the only thing I'll be doing, _no_. I'll bite off _each_ and _every_ part of your body while you scream in _agony_."

'_Baby, I bet you're looking hot and lonely right now. Why don't I accompany you 'til morning?'_

"I know where I can 'accompany' you. It starts with a _your_ and ends with a _grave_."

"What're you muttering about over there, brat?" Niou called from across the clubroom where he was chatting with Yagyuu.

Akaya instantly dropped his phone back into his bag. "Um . . . nothing?" he replied tentatively. "Just . . . checking my messages, haha, they tend to pile up when I'm not looking, yanno. Like . . . like something that . . . tends to pile up when . . . people aren't looking."

The Trickster raised an eyebrow, thankfully not commenting, and continued his conversation with his doubles partner. Later on, Marui and Jackal joined the two, the former giving his boyfriend a peck on the lips as he passed.

Akaya sighed and glared balefully at his bag. He'd have to find out who thought it would be a _fantastic_ idea to give out his number. And after he finds them, he'd take them by the collar, throw them to the ground and . . . and . . . and then what? Yukimura-buchou would be disappointed with him if he beat them up. He supposed he could use his knuckle serve at them and play the 'I was just playing tennis innocently when all of a sudden, they got in the way of my serve! I didn't _mean_ to hit them, honest!" excuse . . . but buchou would probably see through it like he always does with any of the other excuses.

So what could he do to the wrongdoer that Yukimura-buchou would approve of . . . ? Forgive them?

The second-year was hit with a sudden urge to choke on his own spit, inelegantly falling off the bench with the force of his cough.

Marui was beside him in a split-second, bombarding him with questions regarding his physical health.

"Marui . . . Oi, Marui, I think you should . . . maybe you should stop . . ." Jackal massaged his temples in an attempt to save his patience. He failed. "MARUI, WOULD YOU JUST _STOP_ SHAKING AKAYA BEFORE HE PUKES ON THE FLOOR?"

The redhead froze and pulled his boyfriend closer to himself, looking torn between punching Jackal and rushing Akaya to the hospital. Looking down worriedly at the second-year, he asked, "Akaya do you need anything? Water? Fresh air? Um . . . uh . . . a massage?"

Akaya could hardly scowl through his coughing, but he hoped his senpai got the message.

In a moment of panic, Marui – who didn't seem to have gotten Akaya's message – shoved the boy to Jackal with a helpless face. "DO SOMETHING!"

". . ."

". . ."

". . . ack."

"He speaks!" Marui proclaimed triumphantly.

"And what great help you were, sugar freak," Niou commented, not even moving from his earlier spot.

Yagyuu nodded. "Indeed. Oh, you might want to bring Akaya-kun to the nurse now to see if something's wrong with him," he suggested politely.

"Right." Marui immediately heaved the boy off the ground and up his doubles partner's back. "Onwards, donkey!"

"_Donkey?_" sputtered Jackal incredulously, but stumbling towards the door regardless.

The redhead gathered up his boyfriend's belongings and made to follow them when Niou stepped up to him and deftly fished out Akaya's phone from his bag, checking the messages with a smirk. Marui stared in suspicion as the Trickster's expression faltered before growing more mischievous. "What're you doing, Niou?"

The silver-haired boy shrugged and handed the phone to him. "Might wanna peek at the inbox," he advised.

* * *

Five minutes later, the clubroom was empty save for Rikkai's self-proclaimed tensai, on the floor and pretty much in the same state Akaya was in earlier, cursing madly at the offensive messages on his boyfriend's phone.


	14. It's Not Your Bench

_Standard Disclaimer applies._

RD: **It's Not Your Bench**

* * *

I sit back and watch him chat with that bouncy fanboy of his. You know . . . The narcoleptic one. They look like they're having a pretty meaningful conversation – though I have a feeling Marui-senpai just found a way to get cake without having to pay for it.

I sigh.

Seconds later, the 'Gekokujou' dude abandons the Seigaku shorty and sits next to me. I look at him curiously. "Need something?"

"It's not your bench," he answers with a shrug.

I suppose what he said was true, considering we were only visiting Hyotei upon fukubuchou's request. But we shouldn't even _be_ here, really. If fukubuchou just wanted to see – and flirt with, if you can even call it that – the Seigaku captain, couldn't he do that in his free time? Like, say . . . _without tugging the rest of the team along?_ "Whatever."

We just sit there for a while, and I'm kind of thankful that the bench is somewhat hidden from fukubuchou's view. That way, I can relax until someone points out that I'm gone or until he misses me . . . which, I hope, he never does. That'd just be creepy.

"Kirihara, right?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Hiyoshi," he says in a very un-Hyotei-like way. I expected him to rant angrily about how I don't know his name – I guess I misunderstood him. "So is that guy," he gestures to Marui-senpai, "your boyfriend? Oshitari-senpai said something like that when Jirou-senpai went on and on about how, '_Sugeeee!'_ this Marui person is."

"Oh, uh, yeah. He is . . . I mean, he _is_ my boyfriend, not that he's '_Sugeeee!'_ or whatever." I cast a glance at him and ask, "Why'd you ask?"

Again, he shrugs.

"Ah."

"So . . . do you ever get jealous when he . . . hangs out with someone else?"

"Well, he goes out a lot with Niou-senpai and Jackal-senpai if that counts?"

Hiyoshi shakes his head. "No, I mean like with . . . Jirou-senpai, for example," he suggested. "Or anyone outside your team and his family."

I consider it before giving a sober negative. "'Sides, your senpai's a fanboy."

"I guess. So you really don't get jealous?"

"No, unless I should be." I smirk playfully. "Looking for relationship advice, Gekokujou-boy?"

His cheeks turn a little pink and he glares like I just offended him. "_No_!"

I grin to show him just how convinced I am. "_Sure_, dude . . . So who's the special little person who owns your stone-like heart?"

". . . My heart is _not_ stone-like!"

"And that's the only thing you're denying?"

". . ."

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to have some candy in your pockets, would you?"

He reluctantly hands one over.

"Thanks, dude." I pop it in mouth and lean back, waving my hand around aimlessly. "For this, I promise to answer any more of your relationship-oriented questions without the added value of teasing. Young grasshopper," I add just for fun.

Hiyoshi raises an eyebrow before turning his gaze back to Marui-senpai and his fanboy. "I used to think you were the jealous type," he admits after a while. "You're full of surprises, Kirihara."

"Makes me special, doesn't it?"

"And for all of his self-confidence and proclamations of how he's such a genius, that Marui guy's really an insecure person."

I blink. ". . . What?" My eyes instantly seek out Marui-senpai who, I find, is currently shooting metaphorical laser beams at Hiyoshi with his eyes. "Oh."

"We should get back to practice before things get awkward."

"Yeah. Good luck with your love life."

". . ."


	15. Only Too Aware

_Standard Disclaimer applies._

RD: **Only Too Aware**

* * *

There are some things in the world that can only be achieved with patience. Marui knew that very well.

"What're you up to?" he asked, plopping down next to The One.

"Nothing."

"Serious?"

"I _am_," Akaya shot back, firing a pencil at him. He leaned over his work, decidedly ignoring his companion.

The redhead sighed and stared at his kouhai longingly but kept silent. He was only too aware that his relationship with the boy could be likened to barely hanging onto a wildly swinging trapeze. He'll wait, though. Surely, no one could resist a genius like him for long.


	16. Of Force and Vagueness

_Standard Disclaimer applies._

RD: **Of Force and Vagueness**

* * *

"Seii-buchou," an oddly meek voice said with a light tug on his sleeve.

Yukimura looked down at the second-year, smiling fondly. "Yes, Akaya?"

"I . . . I have something to tell you . . ."

His ears perked up. "Oh? What is it, then?" he prodded as he turned to face the boy.

"It's, um . . . It's something _important_, buchou . . ." Akaya fidgeted a little.

"Yes?"

"Marui-senpai . . . two days ago . . ." A slight pout here. "He . . . _forced_ himself on me . . ."

Yukimura dropped his racket.

Akaya only had enough time to blink at him in befuddlement before he was promptly tackled to the floor and undressed. "S-Seii-buchou!" he cried anxiously, not quite understanding what was going on and why he was being poked everywhere and pretty much manhandled. After a few more seconds of sharp scrutiny, he was pulled up from the ground and got back his shirt.

"You don't _look_ hurt," observed Yukimura, circling the younger boy. "No bruises or other outward signs of being raped."

". . . Raped?" Akaya echoed. "Who was?"

A raised eyebrow. "You."

"_Me._"

". . ."

". . . Me?"

". . ."

". . ."

Then, realizing what had just occurred, Yukimura fought the urge to slap himself on the forehead. "I think . . . there's a misunderstanding going on."

"I think so, too," Akaya agreed whole-heartedly. "I wasn't raped."

"You said Marui forced himself on you . . ."

The younger boy paused, lips formed into a silent 'O.'

"Well?"

"Tutoring. I meant Marui-senpai wouldn't leave my house until I could answer all of his questions in history . . ." He frowned. "I didn't think you'd take it some other way."

". . . Oh."


	17. Comparisons

_Standard Disclaimer applies._

RD: **Comparisons**

* * *

There were times when Marui couldn't help but compare his relationship with everyone else's. After all, he and Akaya were hardly what the majority would call sweet, unlike fukubuchou who would blush at the most casual mention of Yukimura's name. At least, he consoled himself, they weren't like Yanagi and Seigaku's Inui and their little proba-babies.

Numbers. Ack. (But, of course, a genius such as Marui Bunta-sama would forever proclaim his mathematical prowess!)

Niou and Yagyuu were a bit better than them, knowing each other so very well. Frankly, he didn't want to think about how far those two have gone – but he had a nagging suspicion that they'd already done _it_. Probably a few weeks after they met, despite Yagyuu's apparent prudishness.

All the while, Marui's precious Aka-chan would only stutter, blush and giggle nervously at inanimate objects whenever their conversation takes a turn towards the sinful. (Sinfully sexy, was what the tensai repeatedly stated but his almost-lover has yet to agree with him.) Obviously, he wouldn't force anything on his darling and would willingly wait, though the fact that Kirihara Akaya was even more of a prude than Yagyuu Hiroshi continued to fog up his brain.

(Maybe it's an age thing?)

He wouldn't dwell too long on something so trivial. God forbid he be like Hyotei's Atobe, who complained all the time about what Seigaku's Echizen said or did this or that time on the bed or to his wardrobe.

Marui and Akaya could agree on a lot of things, and were pretty close friends when they mutually decided to date; and his dear pumpkin was surprisingly patient with him, having committed relationship blunders of his own. There were always lectures on diabetes, though, complete with coloured pictures courtesy of Akaya-sama, but Marui learned to ignore those since Akaya only meant them jokingly.

They were thriving . . . somehow. And he wasn't worried about anything in particular.

"You burned our dinner, stupid Marui-senpai."

. . . Except that.

Marui gingerly placed the frying pan in the sink, his lips twisted into an uncertain smile. "Sorry. Must've spaced out for a while there," he replied softly. "But in my defence, you _were_ supposed to be supervising."

Akaya snickered, waving his hand dismissively. "Yeah, yeah. Anyway, let's eat out. My mom won't mind me missing my curfew every once in a while."

"'Kay."


	18. Teenager

_Standard Disclaimer applies._

RD: **Teenager**

* * *

It wasn't Marui's fault that he was a teenager. Come to think of it, it wasn't his fault either that teenagers seem to have been programmed by an invisible higher being to have hormones rampaging 24-7. It's that being's fault, of course, since it was the one who did all the encoding of the basic so-and-so of the human body. If it had really intended for teenagers to be innocent and wholesome until they turn thirty and get married, then hormones should simply have been . . .

. . . ignored in the plotting of the teenage anatomy.

That simple, isn't it?

There was nothing Marui could do about it now, he supposed, but to continue staring at the exposed skin of his kouhai across the clubroom. Likewise, to further the teenagers' innocence and wholesomeness, the being would have implanted the idea of cubicles into the brain of whoever engineered the whole changing-room business.

Akaya pulled his shirt farther up until it covered his face, fully presenting his pale chest to the entire club, and Marui desperately wished to tug the shirt back down – or at least drive the other members out of the room.

Sure, it's not they're fault that they're teenagers as well, but like hell he'd let them ogle at _his_ boyfriend.


	19. State of Enlightenment

_Standard Disclaimer applies._

RD: **State of Enlightenment**

* * *

It was sometime in the middle of lunch, between consuming all the sushi and starting on the egg rolls, that Kirihara Akaya had an overwhelming realization. His chopsticks fell to the ground with a clatter, attracting the attention of the rest of the Regulars.

"What's wrong, Aka-chan?" Marui asked instantly, not sure if he should be worried – or simply blow it off, since his boyfriend seemed to reach the state of enlightenment every lunch period.

Akaya shook his head and picked up his chopsticks, staring at it like it was the very lock that held back the ultimate answer to the ultimate question. "_He doesn't really_ . . ." he muttered under his breath, ". . . _too young . . . no experience with . . ._"

The team threw bemused stares at Marui, who shrugged with an equally confused expression.

It was Niou who took the initiative and poked Akaya on the forehead. "Hey brat."

The younger boy snapped his gaze to him immediately. "Wha . . . ?"

"What's wrong with you now?"

"Now?" Akaya scrunched up his face. "Eh, just something stupid. You really don't wanna hear it."

"I think we really do," countered Yukimura easily, followed by sounds of agreement from everyone else.

"But . . . it's stupid."

"You always are."

"_Niou!_" Marui kicked the Trickster at the hip.

"Anyway," Yanagi cut in as Niou's lips formed into a snarl. He gestured for Akaya to continue.

"Well, I dunno. It's just that – you know how Echizen from Seigaku is called Prince of Tennis by everyone, yeah? And – and that Atobe guy from Hyotei, he likes to call himself the King of Tennis or whatever."

Jackal blinked. "Wasn't it Monkey King?"

"Nah," Marui replied. "That's just what Echizen calls him. You know how those two are. They wind each other up so much, you can barely tell that they're a couple . . . but what's _that_ got to do with anything, Aka-chan?"

"It's just _that._ They're a couple, right? So if Atobe wants to be the King of Tennis, and Echizen is the Prince . . . does that mean Atobe wants to be Echizen's _father_?"

A silence followed that statement.

Broken, as usual, by Niou. "Interesting discovery," he said, trademark smirk upped a few notches.

Marui slapped himself in exasperation. Akaya's enlightenment never ended well. **Ever.**


	20. First Kiss

_Standard Disclaimer applies._

RD: **First Kiss**

* * *

They were talking about kisses, the team, lounging in a nearby ice cream house after practice. It was mostly nonchalant talk, and none of them noticed how the youngest Regular squirmed ever so slightly, not looking up from his ice cream unless addressed.

"I don't think it matters much," Niou replied to whatever Marui was saying. "I mean, it'd be . . . eh, cool, I guess. But I don't care if it's their first kiss or not."

The redhead stared at him in disbelief. "_Really_? You won't get jealous at all?" he demanded.

"What's done is done, right? And it would be kind of stupid if I had to go chase down the 'offending person' as you call it."

"You suck."

Niou raised an eyebrow at him. "Excuse me?"

"You're totally not romantic. _At all_."

"Well, I'm sorry if I'm not an overly insecure jealous-ass who stares down anyone getting within five feet of his boyfriend-of-two-days –"

"Now, you two," Jackal said, ever the peacemaker – except, obviously, when he wishes war. "Remember the rule about meetings in public establishments."

Marui sat back down from where he was reaching for the front of Niou's shirt. "I get it, I get it," he muttered. But he refused to drop the topic. "I still think the first kiss is important, though. _I_ definitely want my significant other's first kiss."

Fidget.

Akaya snuck dismayed glances at the redhead in between rapidly disappearing scoops of ice cream.

_Marui-senpai does . . . ?_

Yukimura frowned. "Does that mean you'll like a person less if they've already given away their first kiss?" he asked.

The self-proclaimed tensai shrugged. He threw a short look at Akaya and leaned back into his seat. "I dunno."

Fidget.

_What the hell kind of answer is that?_ Akaya thought dejectedly. _I've already –_

His eyes widened and he slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Akaya . . ." Marui trailed off in a small voice. ". . . you've . . . already . . .?"

The junior ace gave a reluctant nod.

* * *

"It's fine with me," the redhead announced suddenly as he flipped through a magazine on his bed. He looked to where Akaya was watching him from the floor. "You know, not getting your first kiss. It's fine and it's my problem anyway. Not your fault."

Akaya bit his lip.

"And – and if you didn't love . . . whoever that bastard is . . . Did you love them, Akaya? Him, her or whatever."

He shook his head forcefully, green eyes wide and anxious.

Marui stood up and knelt in front of him, leaning close. "Then it doesn't count," he said gently. "If you didn't love them, it doesn't count." And he pressed their lips together.


	21. Messenger

_Standard Disclaimer applies._

RD: **Messenger**

* * *

**SuperTensai – Yeah, admit it! says: **Yo.

**Better Than You says: **senpai, hi! 8DDDDD

**Better Than You says: **up to something?

**SuperTensai – Yeah, admit it! says: **Not much. Watcha doin?

**Better Than You says: **stuff . . . nothing TOO important, yanno.

**SuperTensai – Yeah, admit it! says: **Like homework? xD

**Better Than You says: **yyyyeaaaaah. homework. speaking of which, how do i get the limit of this equation . . . hold on a sec.

**SuperTensai – Yeah, admit it! says: **STOP.

**SuperTensai – Yeah, admit it! says: **I don't wanna work on homework right now. If you want, I can go over there later but let's not do this online.

**Better Than You says: **aww . . . 8d that's fine. you'd better stay the night though. it'll take a while.

**SuperTensai – Yeah, admit it! says: **;D I don't mind.

**Better Than You says: **WE'LL BE FOCUSING ON HOMEWORK.

**SuperTensai – Yeah, admit it! says: **Well THAT'S no fun. Loosen up a little. You'll enjoy it, I promise.

* * *

Akaya gaped at the computer screen, fingers frozen over the keyboard. "Huh?"

"What's up?" Niou leaned over his shoulder to look at the chat box. He smirked. "_Someone_'s gonna be having a little fun later."

"Don't be stupid, senpai. I'll be working on my homework."

The Trickster snorted and walked away, muttering, "Not if that sugar freak can help it . . ."

* * *

**Better Than You says: **no thanks. not allowed to fail, remember?

**SuperTensai – Yeah, admit it! says: **Whatever. ): We'll work on that and "other stuff" later when I get there.

**Better Than You says: **here?

**SuperTensai – Yeah, admit it! says: **Yeah?

**Better Than You says: **i'm not so sure HERE would be good . . .

**SuperTensai – Yeah, admit it! says:** Why not?

**Better Than You says: **well i'm kinda over at niou-senpai's house cos my computer broke down yesterday.

**SuperTensai – Yeah, admit it! says:** Oh. Why didn't you come here then?

**SuperTensai – Yeah, admit it! says:** Never mind. Come here now.

**Better Than You says: **so i'll be sleeping over at your house? or still at mine?

**SuperTensai – Yeah, admit it! says:** You sleepover at my house. I'm feeling a bit lazy and stuff.

**Better Than You says: **stuff? 8D

**SuperTensai – Yeah, admit it! says: **OH, YOU KNOW. ;D

* * *

"I am almost disgusted," commented Niou, a slight smirk on his face. "And I have to tell you to leave before you completely sully my computer with your in-your-endos."

"You sully it enough."

"_Exactly_."

* * *

**Better Than You says: **niou-senpai is making me leave now. i'll be there soon! 8D

**SuperTensai – Yeah, admit it! says: **'Kay. Tell him thanks.

**SuperTensai – Yeah, admit it! says:** But that I don't owe him anything for his act of charitable service.

* * *

Akaya was pushed away from the computer roughly. "Hey!" he cried, offended.

Niou typed in something, pressed enter, and disappeared to some other room in his household.

"What the hell . . . ?" The younger boy peered at the machine from his position.

* * *

**Better Than You says: **No need for your gratitude, freak. I'm taking payment from your little brat right here.

**SuperTensai – Yeah, admit it! says: **NIOU MASAHARU, DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM. HE'D BETTER BE HERE IN FIFTEEN MINUTES OR I WILL STAB YOU IN THE EYE AND PULL OUT YOUR STUPID TAIL.

**SuperTensai – Yeah, admit it! says: **BASTARD.

**SuperTensai – Yeah, admit it! signed off.**

* * *

He cursed.


	22. Geez

_Standard Disclaimer applies._

RD: **Geez**

* * *

It's now only a matter of time before the self-proclaimed tensai successfully woos the junior ace to his side. Not permanently, since those types of relationships are rarely happy. Maybe until the metaphorical glue loses its stickiness.

Yukimura saw it coming after all, nearly at the same time Yanagi did. He always, _always_, does his best to prevent any facial reactions from surfacing whenever Marui hovers _just around_ Akaya during their visits to the hospital. He'd had to _silence_ Yanagi a couple of times, though, when it seemed like he would ask why Yukimura would suddenly flex his fingers.

Geez.


	23. A Matter of Time

_Standard Disclaimer applies._

RD: **A Matter of Time**

* * *

It was probably thanks to Yukimura that he even noticed, Yanagi admitted to himself. Him and his reactions, no matter how delicate.

The captain's smile always twitched upwards at the most random times, eyes trained onto their teammates. Specifically, they were watching Akaya duck behind Marui to escape from Niou's pestering. And, of course, Marui would then scowl at the Trickster and proceed to shield Akaya for the rest of the practice.

After a talk with Yukimura, Yanagi had simply gotten accustomed to observing the pair from a distance.

Yukimura was right, then. It was only a matter of time.


	24. More

_Standard Disclaimer applies._

RD: **More**

* * *

Akaya _knew_ whenever he was looking. He just did, somehow. There was always that tingling feeling at the back of his neck – as if being caressed – and it would travel down his spine, making him shiver. He never acknowledged him simply from that, though.

More.

And Akaya _knew_ that by this time, he'd be walking over casually, tossing the book he'd been pretending to read back on the bed. His eyes are more intense, carving a searing path on Akaya's back.

_More._

Now, a wisp of a touch. Akaya leans closer and, with a huff, finally turns to face him.


	25. Taking Precautions

_Standard Disclaimer applies. Also, I don't own Pokemon._

RD: **Taking Precautions**

* * *

"It's you again," greeted Niou, though he didn't look away from his game-playing. "Thought I'd never see you again. Are you mad?"

I shrugged and sat down next to him. "Takes more than that to get me real mad, you still don't know that?"

"So you're _slightly_ mad."

"Niou."

He chuckled. "Yeah, okay. But you did say you're not _real_ mad so I'm just taking precautions."

We sat like that for a while, level after level until he got bored and switched to playing Pokemon. I rolled my eyes because finally, _finally_, he played something I actually recognized. "So," I began as soon as he started button-mashing. "You're really going out with him."

Niou glanced up, blue eyes flashing something I'm not sure of. "Yes, I am," he answered slowly, like he's weighing each word in his head before offering them.

I slouched lower against his wall. There's a new poster of some foreign band across the room.

"Are you _sure_ you're not mad?"

"_Why?_ Will you drop him if I am?" _Will he?_

He snorted. "No. And he ain't gonna go back to you even if I did, you know."

I know that. I _know_ that, but _will you still please let him go? I still have a chance. I know it_.

For a moment, he looked at me like he didn't like what he saw. It was only briefly, though, and the next second, he's back to his game. Observant. Concentrated. Almost obsessive, almost like the way he looks at _him_.

But, _god_, he's only playing Pokemon, isn't he?

"Look here."

I didn't, of course, since I know he didn't mean it that way either, but there's an exasperated note in his voice that's impossible to ignore.

"I'm not . . . I'm not gonna drop him, alright? Not for anyone – and especially not for _you_, Mister Ex-Boyfriend." This time, I made out the challenging glint in his eyes. "I'm not that kind of person, as you know. And I'm not giving him up because I really lo –"

I froze, same as him.

He continued, "I – he's really important to me, you know that. I'm not letting him get hurt anymore 'cos of you. Waited real long, you know that too."

And I did. Niou was always hanging around during the end, wasn't he? Following after him during our fights . . . "Yeah, I knew."

"So – there's no point in being here, bastard. Get the hell out."

"Shut up," I replied instantly, almost smiling. "I have a point and I'm getting there."

Niou rolled his eyes. "So get there. My time ain't free."

I stood up and brushed off my pants before heading towards the door. "Just take care of him, okay?" I muttered, only loud enough for him to hear. "I'm not letting him get hurt 'cos of you, either. I still love him."

"I know."

I shoot him one last stare, and I saw that _he does_, so I did the only thing left to do.

I walked out.


	26. Not You, Niou

_Standard Disclaimer applies. _

RD: **Not You, Niou**

* * *

On one of Rikkai's amazingly not-that-rare breaks, the Regulars were literally chillin' in Yukimura's backyard. Akaya did _not_ like it at all, but he wouldn't complain because, for once, Sanada-fukubuchou was being quiet in a relaxing way instead of the usual quiet in a beware-for-I-am-watching-you way. Besides, he is Rikkai, therefore he is tough.

"Do you want us to turn off the snow, brat?"

"Fhutmnuffuph."

Marui blinked at the younger boy. "Still cold, Akaya?"

"Nowf."

"I bet it's a shivering disease," Niou interjected. "Am I right?"

Akaya nodded somewhat warily.

Marui was not convinced. "Do you want another jacket? I'll tear off Jackal's," he offered.

Said jacket-owner stared incredulously at him. "Hey!"

. . . but he was ignored.

"Hey, exactly how many layers are you wearing right now?" Jackal simply decided to ask the tensai, curious, from where he was listening quietly until offended. Yagyuu was checking his phone imperturbably for messages, Yanagi could be mistaken for someone's dead relative and Sanada was talking to – or, rather, being talked to by Yukimura.

"Uh . . . I had four a while ago," Marui replied. "But I gave one to Akaya so I'm down to three."

"Hey, _ow_!"

Everyone turned towards the resident ace and Trickster. Niou stared back casually. "What? I can't have compassion for my kouhai?"

They all looked at Akaya who was pulling Niou's jacket on. "Oh," they chorused. But, in the innermost cavities of their minds, they all had the same thought.

'_Not you, Niou. Definitely not you._'


	27. Blame the Management!

_Standard Disclaimer applies. _

RD: **Blame the Management!**

* * *

"Why is it . . ." Akaya began, glaring balefully at the wall, ". . . that we can hear them very well?"

"I don't know, either. Best to ignore it."

"I _can't_."

"I'll support you, don't worry."

"Well, your support _isn't working_."

Marui's lower lip jutted out a little. "C'mon, Aka-chan. It's not like we can do much about it," he reasoned. "They have every right to be here, and the walls are supposed to be soundproof anyway so if you want to blame anyone, blame the management!"

". . . I don't know if you noticed, but I sort of _am_," the younger boy snapped.

Because, really, it just wasn't fair that their first real date in months would be ruined by faulty soundproofing.


	28. Going Down

_Standard Disclaimer applies. _

RD: **Going Down**

* * *

"C'mon, pick up, pick up!"

"Hello?"

"_Yukimura_! Um . . . how's it?"

"Fine, I suppose, if you're talking about the visit you, Akaya and Niou were supposed to be a part of. Renji told me you guys might be a little late, but an hour is pushing it, don't you think? What're you three doing?"

"Oh . . . well . . . about that . . . haha . . . we were really only planning to be ten or so minutes late, promise!"

"But then?"

"Um, see, Akutagawa invited us to Atobe's house for some snacks and I couldn't _resist_, and I tried to, but then he said that weird Hyotei junior would be there, too. So then Akaya said he wanted to _talk_ to the weird kid – damn, I'm gonna have to chat with him later about that – so we went 'cos, you know, I can resist Akutagawa, but Aka-chan? Ha . . . so like I was saying, we went and Niou tagged along for god knows what reason. Probably wanted to toilet paper some part of Atobe's house . . . mansion. Whatever."

"I see. Well, if Akaya wanted to go, I guess that's okay."

"Right. Okay, right, and we planned to steal some cakes for you since there were a lot of them, which we did."

"Did anything interesting happen?"

". . . Aka-chan flung a cake at Atobe's face."

"He . . ."

_I'll make him run laps when he gets back._

"_Accidentally_, of course! _Please_ tell fukubuchou not to make him run laps. He was just really absorbed in that conversation . . . he was having . . . with that weird kid . . . who I will also chat with later to find out what he plans to do with _my_ boyfriend. And then he, Akaya's who we're talking about now, got excited and started throwing his arms around while holding his fork. That had cake. Which hit Atobe's face."

"Oh."

"Sorry."

"It's fine. Renji's teaching Gen a new way of meditating. It looks fun, actually."

"Really? That's great! Tell fukubuchou we wish him luck."

"_Gen, they're wishing you luck_."

_I'd rather not receive it, knowing their luck._

"_Aww, don't say that. They mean well._ So what is this thing that you definitely don't want to, yet need to, say to me that you're stalling so much before you say it?"

". . . I knew it."

"Say it."

_Ow! Niou-senpai, stop that!_

"_Hey, you bastard, you're hurting him._ Yeah, well, we were at the top of the stairs then, saying goodbye to Akutagawa and the weird kid. Around that time, we were already fifteen minutes late for the visit, I think, and Akaya got this funny idea that, um . . ."

"Hm?"

". . . That, um . . . sliding down the banister would be quicker than walking down the stairs?"

"And I'm assuming you didn't stop him."

_Come on, brat. Walk faster!_

_I'm not a donkey, senpai! Stop pulling meee!_

"He was already a third of the way when we noticed! A-and . . . okay, I'm sorry. Really sorry. I'm never letting him out of my sight again."

_Which is what you really want, isn't it?_

"_Shut up, Niou._ Yukimura?"

"Is Akaya injured?"

"Sprained his left wrist, nothing too serious."

"Oh. Okay, that's good. Bring him to the hospital, just in case."

"Yeah, we're outside right now. We can visit you at your house tomorrow, right?"

_I'm really sorry, buchou!__ I'll bring two cakes tomorrow 'cos Marui-senpai will probably eat one of 'em._

"Tell Akaya I'll see you three then. And take care not to make the sprain worse. And, Marui, look after him _properly_, okay?"

"Right. Sorry. I will."

"Tomorrow, then."

"Yeah, bye." Marui pocketed his mobile and grinned. "I knew Akaya would get us out of trouble," he said triumphantly.

Akaya pouted at that. "I feel used."

"Get used to it. It's not gonna change anytime soon," Niou quipped.

"That's _mean_, senpai."


	29. Desolation

_Standard Disclaimer applies. _

RD: **Desolation**

* * *

He shuffled into their apartment, thudding against doors and smelling, looking, _acting_ like a drunk who just got laid. It helped that he wasn't so drunk he couldn't give directions to his 'companion.' It _didn't_ help that the moment he stumbled into the bedroom, he heard them.

Desolate sobs, the angry thumping of fists on the wall and, finally, a quietly spoken, "I saw you from the window."

_Shit_, he thought. _Shit_. But it was already too late and he should have thought that earlier. He should have _stopped_, should have gone home and not out drinking with his co-workers. He should have bought the fucking game Kirihara had been obsessing over for weeks and celebrated his raise instead of spending everything on an ass-load of drinks and a stupid motel room.

_Shit_.

"Akaya . . ."

The younger man cleared his throat and rubbed his eyes harshly with the blanket. He got off the bed shakily, grabbing onto the bedside table for support. "I . . . um, I called your office a while ago," he said in a soft voice. "The secretary said you . . . you got a raise and went out with some guys, and so I thought I'd wait for you to come and we could . . ."

Marui was frozen.

". . . but maybe it'd be best if I . . . stayed at Niou-senpai's place for a while . . ."

"No–"

"_Senpai_," Kirihara interrupted through gritted teeth. "_You_'re not exactly in a position to tell me what to do right now."

"Akaya, no, please, let's talk for a while. A – a _minute_, a-and," he paused, thinking, racking his _fucking tensai _brain for _something, god, anything_ to make Kirihara stay. He buried his face in his palms, growling in frustration. "_Please_."

Kirihara had, by that time, already brushed past him.

_No. _

Heading for the door determinedly.

_Oh god, no, please._

He stopped, hand on the doorknob, and Marui almost wanted to stab the hope fluttering in his chest.

". . . Akaya–"

"I'll ask Niou-senpai if he could pick up some of my stuff tomorrow. Don't wait up."

And he left.


	30. Mobile Blogging

_Standard Disclaimer applies. _

RD: **Mobile Blogging**

* * *

**Wednesday**

**mobile: i**

woke up late today and had to run super fast.

still got to practice late.

had to run tons of laps.

hate fukubuchou.

he sucks.

**mobile: ii**

english is stupid.

never want to see another dictionary ever again but buchou says it's necessary.

is it really?

**mobile: iii**

yes it is.

niou-senpai and marui-senpai were talking in english just now.

didn't understand a word.

buchou and yanagi-senpai were laughing so they were probably talking about something stupid.

also fukubuchou looked annoyed.

yagyuu-senpai was almost smiling!

and jackal-senpai covered my ears around the middle of it.

not like it mattered.

**mobile: iv**

buchou said niou-senpai and marui-senpai were talking about fukubuchou.

something about bird activities with atobe.

how are bird activities funny?

will ask jackal-senpai later.

can't ask marui-senpai.

he'll just laugh at me and not answer.

**Thursday**

**mobile: i**

brought cupcake for buchou today!

spent last night baking.

not very good at it either.

looks more like a pound of brown moss than cupcake.

still edible though.

**mobile: ii**

cupcake disappeared.

fukubuchou almost made me run laps for crying.

he should never have kids.

buchou told fukubuchou not to make me run laps.

**mobile: iii**

will kill marui-senpai.

already gave him half the cupcake batch yesterday.

why did he steal buchou's too?

stupid.

**mobile: iv**

marui-senpai followed me home to apologize.

said he'll bring cake tomorrow.

told him no thanks.

then he looked like the puppy i kicked last week.

changed my mind.

manipulative bastard.

**mobile: v**

niou-senpai wants to hang out on saturday.

told me not to tell marui-senpai.

i said yes.

marui-senpai sucks at video games anyway.

**Friday**

**mobile: i**

marui-senpai brought strawberry cake.

shared it with the whole team but gave extra big slice to me.

gave it to buchou instead.

marui-senpai looked mad but it was his fault for stealing the cupcake.

**mobile: ii**

jackal-senpai looks extra-bald today.

and marui-senpai asked me out for tomorrow.

told him i already have something planned.

**mobile: iii**

caved.

told marui-senpai i'm free on sunday.

i'm never kicking puppies ever again.

**Saturday**

**mobile: i**

eleven fifty-six.

meeting up with niou-senpai at noon.

still haven't eaten breakfast.

should probably leave now and beg him to eat later.

maybe he'll even pay.

**mobile: ii**

never expect niou-senpai to pay.

**mobile: iii**

niou-senpai's really good at games.

have to ask him about that later.

and marui-senpai called five minutes ago to ask about tomorrow.

he'll pick me up at my house and we'll walk around.

kind of miss him.

**mobile: iv**

marui-senpai called again.

sounded mad.

how did he find out i'm with niou-senpai?

**mobile: v**

ah.

niou-senpai.

should have known.

**mobile: vi**

niou-senpai has a heart!

treated me to burgers and ice cream!

will tell buchou and yanagi-senpai about this when i see them on monday.

had a lot of fun.

must call marui-senpai to see if he's still mad.

**mobile: vii**

marui-senpai said he was irrational earlier.

still on for tomorrow!

yay!

**Sunday**

**mobile: i**

onee-chan said i'll have good luck today.

sure hope she's not lying.

will tell kaa-chan she broke the expensive vase if she is.

she didn't.

but that won't stop me from telling.

**mobile: ii**

marui-senpai's in a good mood today.

will give details later.

**Monday**

**mobile: i**

completely forgot to post yesterday.

marui-senpai was super funny and we had tons of laughs making fun of people.

want to go out with him again soon.

**mobile: ii**

yanagi-senpai looked like an aneurysm when i told him about niou-senpai.

the burgers thing.

buchou just laughed.

fukubuchou just had this face.

the one that said: no, really?

**mobile: iii**

correction.

yanagi-senpai looked like -he was gonna have- an aneurysm.

**Tuesday**

**mobile: i**

forgot to post something again.

marui-senpai wants to go out on saturday again.

awesome!

must get some sleep.

five hours before wake-up time.


End file.
